Thank you for your interest in the Bellarmine Forums. As part of our standard procedures we ask for some basic information which assures us that our members are all traditional Catholics.

For this reason you will receive an email after registering which asks you to introduce yourself to the forum administrator (John Lane) and inform me of your theological position and where you assist at Holy Mass.

Please also note that we prefer members to join using their real names. We understand that some people are not comfortable with this and this is why we do not insist upon it. But we do encourage the use of real names, as it aids a sense of responsibility and a proper gravity in discussing sacred matters.

Sat May 20, 2006 3:57 am

Admin

Site Admin

Joined: Tue May 16, 2006 2:30 pmPosts: 4334

Policy Respecting Anonymity

The Bellarmine Forums encourages the use of real names. This policy is aimed at promoting responsibility and good behaviour. We are endeavouring to avoid the kind of irresponsible behaviour generally witnessed on forums - lack of charity, posturing, dishonesty, etc.

The general principle behind this approach is that somebody is going to take responsibility for each post, both as author and as publisher. This is no different from the world of print publishing, despite the fact that within the Internet milieu many have yet to realise or insist upon this reality. Before God and before the law, somebody is responsible for each post.

In the case of anonymous posts the responsibility which usually falls upon the author of each contribution must be borne by the publisher alone. This is a privilege, not a right, obviously.

Any comments on this, or further suggestions, are welcome.

_________________In Christ our King.

Sun May 21, 2006 12:11 am

Admin

Site Admin

Joined: Tue May 16, 2006 2:30 pmPosts: 4334

Censorship

The moderators cannot spend their lives censoring posts - instead, they censor persons if necessary. The persons who will post on the Bellarmine Forums are those who have the sources (catechisms or theologians, for example) to back up their views, and if they don't, they only post questions.

Otherwise we would be imagining that one could have a view of what the Church teaches without being able to say whence one got it. If the Church taught you, you can say how she did so. This is axiomatic. Only a species of liberalism could provide cover for any other policy.

We care about the common good, which is the good of numerous souls. We may be mistaken in selecting what promotes or defends that good, but it's our forum and our decision.

_________________In Christ our King.

Mon May 29, 2006 2:55 pm

Admin

Site Admin

Joined: Tue May 16, 2006 2:30 pmPosts: 4334

We have very limited resources and a narrow purpose. Our intention is not to replace Fisheaters or Angelqueen, but to provide something different - a place where primarily the "pope issue" and related matters can be discussed in a manner which I and the moderators believe is the proper manner for such discussions. This of course is not to say that all posts on all other areas of Catholicism are discouraged, but rather that this is not the forum to share personal problems or seek advice for matters of a personal nature.

_________________In Christ our King.

Wed Jun 14, 2006 10:28 pm

Admin

Site Admin

Joined: Tue May 16, 2006 2:30 pmPosts: 4334

Some points to ponder

Crazy Cat wrote:

I'm so disappointed to learn this, because we do so need a place where all traditional Catholics are welcome and where we can speak of personal day-to-day matters. And it's not all problems, either; just a place to share the JOY of our Holy Faith.

Dear "Cat,"

So, how crazy are you?

The problem is twofold, as I see it. The first is that we are not talking in private - we are publishing our words to the entire world. I don't think that most people have really thought about that and its implications.

Secondly, and this is even more important in light of the first point, the general laity cannot be trusted to keep their comments Catholic. Not because they are bad people, or anything of that nature, but merely because they haven't been well formed. I know because I was not well formed. I'm still finding out how to be a Catholic, eighteen years after I found the true Mass. Because I am aware of the problem, I try to be careful. And when I try and help others to see that they must be careful, they react badly.

But even if we were all well formed in the Faith, should we publish everything we might otherwise say in private? Should we have living-room conversations in the public square? More, should we record them and play them on the radio? Because that is the effect. Except with text we have something more permanent than radio, and with the Web we have something universal in its reach. Universal and permanent. Whew!

I think for the kind of thing you are envisaging, perhaps an email list might be a better option? That way you know that only list members see your comments - not potentially the entire World - and if they are forwarded by somebody then that is their own responsibility. You still need to maintain order, of course.

Crazy Cat wrote:

You realize that "Angelqueen" is not at all Catholic, of course.

Yes, I do see that, for the reasons explained in this post already, and also because it treats the Novus Ordo as Catholic, which is abominable and dangerous, and because there is no sense of responsibility whatsoever amongst most of the active posters. The owner, John Grasmeier, appears to me to be a well-meaning fellow who has the Faith but doesn't know much about it. He's probably somewhat typical of your emerging-from-the-Novus-via-the-Indult types. Obviously a bit more intelligent than average, and apparently with a truck-load of good will towards his fellows. But his position is impossible. He is trying to maintain order but he doesn't know what standard he is bound to set; his posters are infected with the free-speech error and cannot be corrected on it; he has this Catholic instinct which informs him that evil doesn't come from Rome, but he doesn't know how to match that with the manifest fact that manifold evils are coming daily from "rome."

Which brings me neatly to one of the points I was intending to make elsewhere about our attitude towards our erring brethren. Let's begin by pondering why God might have given us the great gift of clarity about the status of the Holy See right now. Could it be that He sees how good we are and wishes to reward us? After all, we're not like those others who don't investigate and read and ask hard questions. Are we? !!! No, that is not the answer, and in fact it is nothing but abominable pride to think such things! If we do more research than some, isn't that a gift too? Why do we see what others don't? It is a gift. It is a grace. It isn't merited, deserved, or anything of that nature. At least, in my case it isn't. And anyway, I certainly didn't do any real study before realising that the Holy See was vacant. The fact was handed to me on a plate.

Could it be that God wants more from us? God's love is specifically different from our love. Our love is the movement of the will towards an existing good. His love is the giving of a good to the object of His will. He loves by making the object of His love better; by giving it good things, so that it in turn is more lovable and is inclined to love Him in return. This is Who God is; He is the being Who is love subsistent. He is the Giver par excellence. He gives us so many goods that it would beggar belief - except that belief is one of His gifts. We must believe that He loves us, despite our utter unworthiness; and we do see that He loves us because He proves it in so many ways. And one of those ways is by giving us the light to see what is the true nature of this crisis.

But why? Surely it is so that we can be grateful and return Him something. There can be no other reason, and we know that this reason is the reason for all of His gifts. That is, they are all given to us because He loves us and because it redounds to His glory in itself that He gives to us, and if and when we respond by loving Him in return, then that redounds to His glory even more.

Now, the devil hates everything good and he is the father of lies. He is also persistent and clever. If we respond the way that God wills, which is to humble ourselves, sanctify ourselves, and attempt to assist others by our prayers, our sacrifices, and (least of all) by our words, then the devil loses. So he endeavours to intercept our reaction by convincing us that we are responsible for seeing the truths that we see; that we are superior to our erring brethren; that we need to "doctor" the Church; that we have a special role to play that involves glory for ourselves in some way.

And this, I think, is the origin of the many "sedevacantist" tragedies aroud the world. Not that most "sedevacantists" fall into them - but only that there have been many of them, and they have really been tragic. It is particularly the explanation of the home papal elections and the tendency to schism of many otherwise sound Catholics. The Church hasn't judged, so they think it is their job to fill the breach. The Church hasn't judged - but that's all right, we know what she'd say if she did judge, so let's hold everybody to that standard. No! If we fall into these traps, we give God less than He wants. He wants more from us, not less. Read again what Cardinal Pie said in prophecy:

Quote:

Now in this extremity, what will be the remaining duty of all true Christians, of all men of faith and courage?

The answer is this: spurred on to ever greater vigour by the apparent hopelessness of their predicament, they will redouble their ardour in prayer, their energy in works and their courage in combat so that their every word and work cries out together:

“Oh God, our Father, who art in Heaven, Hallowed by Thy Name, on earth as it is in Heaven, Thy Kingdom come, on earth as in Heaven, The Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven Sicut in coelo…et in terra!”

So, it's true that we take religion more seriously than our erring brethren, as a rule. But that's a grace. Are we grateful, as we should be? Or do we steal it from God by making it to our credit instead of His?

May the Good God make us less unworthy of knowing whatever truths He has given us the light to know.

_________________In Christ our King.

Last edited by Admin on Sat Jul 08, 2006 11:07 am, edited 1 time in total.

Sat Jun 17, 2006 6:47 am

Recusant

Joined: Sun May 28, 2006 12:28 pmPosts: 284

Re: Some points to ponder

John Lane wrote:

So, it's true that we take religion more seriously than our erring brethren, as a rule. But that's a grace. Are we grateful, as we should be? Or do we steal it from God by making it to our credit instead of His?

In the close to 10 years that I have been familiar to your name and your writings via sede list and websites, I must say this gave me the most sense of heartfelt gentle Charity I've seen you express. Not to say the others weren't...but this was really something, I dare say it was poetic. Deo Gratias.
Oh, and thank you for the explanation, which makes your decision to remove those sections quite understandable, it hadn't occured to me before.

I would like to introduce myself. My name is Sister Terese Peter and I am a 62 year old semi-retired Benedictine sister. I wear a full-habit and pray the Monastic Diurnal everyday. (Lauds, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline) My community does not exist any longer. There were only 5 of us left and three of the oldest sisters were severely handicapped. They are now in an skilled care facility run by the Felician sisters.

I came to this forum because I had joined a few other Catholic forums--or so I thought they were Catholic. In the discussions, I found that I was being verbally attacked by other members--even in a "Traditional Catholic" thread. I made mention of how the novus ordo mass has decimated parishes and the Faith in general. I was then told that I was a liar, couldn't prove my statements, and finally told that I was spreading "anti-Catholicism". I was ridiculed and called names. I finally reported the abusive posts to the moderator/administrator and received a warning that I had "subverted the topic". So, I knew I could not stay there. It seems that those so-called catholic forums are nothing more than the usual political forums where people engage in endless circular arguing over who's right and who's wrong about a whole basket of issues. The arguments are simply recycled from topic to topic. So to say I am happy to find a really Catholic forum is an understatement. Being without a community it helps to have some resources to Traditional Catholic people.

I have been a teacher and principal for over 25 years. I primarily teach math and science in grades 6-10, although I have taught all subjects. Currently, I am living with a friend in South Carolina. This is not a good situation and I will be moving shortly to Baltimore, MD. I would ask your prayers that the possible living situation in Baltimore will be accomplished. God bless you all and have a blessed Holy Week and Easter.

BTW, when I was in grade school, beginning in about 1950 when I was in 3rd grade, my teachers were nuns of the BVM order (since essentially destroyed), and I loved them all.

I remember that we would habitually shorten the "Sister" to "St'ir". One little nun, who was also our music teacher, finally said once to a couple of us, "Stir?!? Stir?!? What ya gonna stir?" After that, we were a bit more careful.

_________________Kenneth G. Gordon

Thu Mar 28, 2013 4:50 pm

SisterTeresePeter

Joined: Sun Mar 24, 2013 3:51 pmPosts: 5

Re: Joining the Bellarmine Forums

Ken Gordon wrote:

God Bless you, Sister. I'll add you to my daily prayers.

BTW, when I was in grade school, beginning in about 1950 when I was in 3rd grade, my teachers were nuns of the BVM order (since essentially destroyed), and I loved them all.

I remember that we would habitually shorten the "Sister" to "St'ir". One little nun, who was also our music teacher, finally said once to a couple of us, "Stir?!? Stir?!? What ya gonna stir?" After that, we were a bit more careful.

Thank you so much. Prayers are always welcome! And, I still get called "St'r"! God bless you!

Thu Mar 28, 2013 9:48 pm

Admin

Site Admin

Joined: Tue May 16, 2006 2:30 pmPosts: 4334

Re: Joining the Bellarmine Forums

Welcome, Sister.

_________________In Christ our King.

Thu Mar 28, 2013 11:25 pm

SisterTeresePeter

Joined: Sun Mar 24, 2013 3:51 pmPosts: 5

Re: Joining the Bellarmine Forums

John Lane wrote:

Welcome, Sister.

Thank you. I am happy to be here! God bless you!

Fri Mar 29, 2013 12:40 am

flameburns623

Joined: Tue Feb 25, 2014 1:02 amPosts: 1Location: Wood River IL

Re: Joining the Bellarmine Forums

Introducing myself as a Traditional Catholic, 54, devoting the next year (from the onset of Lent, 2014 thru Lent 2015) to the exploration of the Sedevacantist thesis.

Wasn't certain if this is supoosed to be the introductions thread or if there is another.

Thanks for receiving me as a member!

Sat May 03, 2014 5:20 am

Admin

Site Admin

Joined: Tue May 16, 2006 2:30 pmPosts: 4334

Re: Joining the Bellarmine Forums

Welcome!

_________________In Christ our King.

Sat May 03, 2014 8:31 am

TKGS

Joined: Tue Nov 28, 2006 3:57 amPosts: 391Location: Indiana, USA

Re: Joining the Bellarmine Forums

flameburns623 wrote:

Introducing myself as a Traditional Catholic, 54, devoting the next year (from the onset of Lent, 2014 thru Lent 2015) to the exploration of the Sedevacantist thesis.

This is certainly the best internet resource on the topic but make sure you explore the whole website and not just the forum.

Another great source is novusordowatch.org - especially their newswire. I would also recommend listening to some of the archived shows on Restoration Radio (blogtalkradio.com/restorationradio), though this source is not a sedevacantist source, per se, but a source that sometimes touches on the crisis in the Church.

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